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How to describe a person in a word who keeps mentioning about his own life story or about himself for every topic that is being conversed? Be it interesting or boring, he has the ability to pick out something that has happened to him or he himself creates a chance to talk about himself.

Edit: The person is not selfish. He does care for others. I am just saying that the person relates everything to his life and talks about it, that too not even in a conceited way. This person is experienced enough to relate everything to things that has happened to him.

tchrist
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Nagarajan Shanmuganathan
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    The term "narcissistic" has been widely used to describe such persona. Although the original meaning is more related to "admiration of one's own physical appearance". – BiscuitBoy Mar 07 '16 at 04:24
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    In practice, you call him a bore. – Marthaª Mar 07 '16 at 06:27
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    A (bad) date. =) – Burhan Khalid Mar 07 '16 at 06:35
  • @CandiedOrange Yes. I made it clear in my edit. – Nagarajan Shanmuganathan Mar 07 '16 at 07:00
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    I think most of the answers are incorrect for the edited version of this question. Most of them would be appropriate for a conceited or egotistical person, not someone who has the skill to relate most things to his/her own life. – End Anti-Semitic Hate Mar 07 '16 at 10:23
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    @RockPaperLizard, yes. Only "self-absorbed" not when used in a negative context partially matches my description. – Nagarajan Shanmuganathan Mar 07 '16 at 10:30
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    "He's a great man. Just ask him; he'll tell you!" – Egox Mar 07 '16 at 12:46
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    Plenty of self-absorbed narcissists are professionals in medicine, law, etc. – Stu W Mar 07 '16 at 14:30
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    In America, he is called a presidential candidate! – abhi Mar 07 '16 at 16:24
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    Maybe self-referential is closer to the idea you have in mind. It seems as though the quality you're trying to isolate is the person's tendency to see everything in the wold through the prism or filter of his or her own experience. In this regard, he sounds like an advanced case of every other human being. – Sven Yargs Mar 07 '16 at 23:37
  • This question now seems meaningless to me. A person who talks of nothing but themselves but isn't selfish? I call them non-existent. – Doug Glancy Mar 08 '16 at 22:35
  • @DougGlancy: that reminds me of a time I stopped to help a driver with a blowout in the rain. I told him how it reminded me of a time when I'd had a blowout in the rain, and someone stopped to help me, and she was wearing this funny hat, so we had a chuckle about that. He said she must have been really unselfish, to stop in the rain like that, which of course was a big complement to me too, so I thanked him. Then (and this is why I'm reminded of it) he said he was surprised because most people he knew that always related everything to something that had happened to them were really selfish. – Steve Jessop Mar 09 '16 at 00:39
  • @Steve, that reminds me of a hat I wore in the rain once, a purple one, the hat not the rain, and it stained my face. What a day! – Doug Glancy Mar 09 '16 at 01:09
  • @NagarajanShanmuganathan is it required that the person is a he, though? – njzk2 Mar 09 '16 at 07:01
  • @njzk2: No, I just typed the question thinking about a person in my mind. The person need not necessarily be a male. – Nagarajan Shanmuganathan Mar 09 '16 at 07:03
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    "Bob is full of himself". – Cary Swoveland Mar 09 '16 at 07:40
  • Although many answers overlap with the older question http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/65472/word-for-only-caring-about-oneself the two questions are not identical. The first question is about someone selfish, while this question is about a person who listens but then only talks about their experiences. You could literally call that person "someone who loves the sound of their voice". – Mari-Lou A Mar 13 '16 at 11:56
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    Vote to reopen because the quality of answers on this question is higher. – Mari-Lou A Mar 13 '16 at 11:58

13 Answers13

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Self-Absorbed

This is similar to self-centered, but perhaps has less of a negative connotation. A person who talks about themselves a lot may simply be introverted, and socially awkward, and therefore not have a lot else to talk about. They may also try to give themselves a sense of social relevance, not realising that it is actually counter-productive.

user1751825
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I like narcissistic,.

:egocentric [Webster's].

It is perhaps a stronger word than the definition and transitions nicely to the noun narcissist.

Stu W
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    This doesn't seem consistent with the person not being selfish. Narcissism is an extreme form of selfishness. – user1751825 Mar 07 '16 at 07:51
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    Good point. I later thought of self-absorbed, but I was busy doing something else. – Stu W Mar 07 '16 at 12:54
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    But plenty of helping professionals in medicine, law, etc., are narcissists and still might be great at their jobs. – Stu W Mar 07 '16 at 14:33
  • @StuW those professionals might only care about self gain through helping others. Not helping others, in the professions you listed, could result in a self loss. For instance a lawyer's reputation is probably closely tied with their success rate, helping others is just a byproduct of their success. – Jonny Henly Mar 07 '16 at 23:43
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    Isn't narcissism liking oneself and believing in oneself, one could also be self absorbed but being anxious or pessimistic. I.e. talking of one's troubles all the time, previous losses, fears of the future and so on. – mathreadler Mar 08 '16 at 11:48
  • People who are selfish due to inflated self-interest are often rightly called narcissistic, but that doesn't mean all narcissists are selfish. At its core, the word merely refers to an excess of self-appreciation (to a degree bordering on erotic, according to some sources). This can lead to selfish behavior, but not necessarily. Just as it's possible to be infatuated with another person and live a life not dedicated solely to their service, so too can a narcissist live an unselfish life. – talrnu Mar 08 '16 at 15:06
  • IMO Narcissistic does not imply that he does any talking about himself, just that s/he cares about himself or concerned with himself almost exclusively. A narcissistic person does not have to be outspoken. – einpoklum Mar 09 '16 at 09:48
  • Yes. One being enamored with their own opinion, regardless of the subject, is more particular to narcissists. I do believe self-absorbed is a better answer. I was in a room once with a pair of "renowned" doctors, and they both had something to say at the same time. Instead of one giving way to the other, they both kept talking louder and louder until eventually they were both shouting, got embarrassed, and left the room. – Stu W Mar 09 '16 at 12:55
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It may be self serving but I find the following to be self evident:

Self-centered

adjective

preoccupied with oneself and one's affairs.

"he's far too self-centered to care what you do"

synonyms: egocentric, egotistic, egotistical, egomaniacal, self-absorbed, self-obsessed, self-seeking, self-interested, self-serving;

google

I selfishly presume you'll find this answer to be self-sufficient.

Community
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candied_orange
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"Egocentric" fits the characteristics you describe. It's a little stronger to me than self-centered or selfish.

From http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/egocentric:

Caring too much about yourself and not about other people

Limited in outlook or concern to one's own activities or needs

Community
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Doug Glancy
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You might consider, full of themselves

full of oneself

Conceited, self-centered, as in Ever since she won the prize Mary's been so full of herself that no one wants to talk to her. This expression uses full of in the sense of "engrossed with" or "absorbed with," a usage dating from about 1600.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer

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Elian
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  • Isn't being full of oneself to think highly or proudly of oneself. One can be self centered but pessimistic / negative about things too. – mathreadler Mar 08 '16 at 10:59
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An excellent Australian turn of phrase is to say that he has tickets on himself.

It's a shortened form of the saying:

If they were first prize in a raffle, they would purchase all the tickets themselves!

Nomic
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How about "egotist" or "egotistical"?

Definition of "egotism" from Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged:

the practice of speaking or writing of oneself especially in excess : boastfulness; specifically : the frequent use of the words I, my, and me

Andy Schweig
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What about solipsistic? From solipsism,

a theory holding that the self can know nothing but its own modifications and that the self is the only existent thing; also: extreme egocentrism

I've seen it used to mean, essentially, believing the universe revolves around oneself. For instance, this 2014 essay by Rebecca Mead in the New Yorker (emphasis added):

But to demand that a work be “relatable” expresses a different expectation: that the work itself be somehow accommodating to, or reflective of, the experience of the reader or viewer. The reader or viewer remains passive in the face of the book or movie or play: she expects the work to be done for her. If the concept of identification suggested that an individual experiences a work as a mirror in which he might recognize himself, the notion of relatability implies that the work in question serves like a selfie: a flattering confirmation of an individual’s solipsism.

Matthew Leingang
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    I don't think this quite works in the context, soliphism is more of a philosophy that nothing is real except yourself. It's a bit like Descartes' whole "I think therefore I am" thing. All you can be sure of is that you exist, and that for all you know, the rest of the world is the product of your imagination. – creative_name Mar 07 '16 at 17:39
  • @user57467: I agree that is the original definition of the term. However, I have seen it drift to the "extreme egocentrism" definition in popular writing. See the example I found. – Matthew Leingang Mar 07 '16 at 19:14
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How about "self-obsessed" ? It should be a good fit.

Definition as per Webster: overly concerned with one's own desires, needs, or interests  Usage: A self-obsessed television journalist, she has a penchant for making herself the focus of every story

Sharad
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    Hi, Sharad, and welcome to English Language & Usage. If you look at the answers that have received multiple upvotes on this page, you'll notice that most of them include dictionary definitions and/or other explanations that help make them useful as standalone self-contained answers. You can do the same thing with your answer by citing (and linking to) a relevant definition of self-obsessed. Thanks! – Sven Yargs Mar 07 '16 at 23:27
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Egotist: a person who is excessively conceited or absorbed in themselves; self-seeker

Ego comes from I. The added t to the word egoist refers to a person who is obsessed with himself and talks about himself relentlessly.

Apoorva Srivastava
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Either the phrase "preoccupied with himself" or "preoccupied with herself" can also be used in this situation. These phrases do not necessarily describe a person who is vain or narcissistic.

A B
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I believe that some people are self-centered, and that doesn't have a negative connotation. It's cultural. I would bet for Egocentric.

Prof. Ghersi
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  • Egocentric has already been suggested by @Doug Glancy, I'm afraid http://english.stackexchange.com/a/312043/44619 – Mari-Lou A Mar 07 '16 at 17:20
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    Yes, finally someone understood that the person need not be associated with a particular characteristic that has a negative connotation. But the problem with egocentric is that it comes with a negative connotation like being selfish. – Nagarajan Shanmuganathan Mar 07 '16 at 17:21
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A 'megalomaniac' person which it means a person who is obsessed with his/her own power.

Marwa
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